t8 family & social class

7/31/2019 T8 Family & Social Class

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Family, Social

Class and

Consumer

Behavior

ADVANCED

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR


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Dr Catherine Bachleda: MKT 5399

A Simple Model of Consumer Decision Making

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By the end of this lecture you should be able to:

1. Explain the changing nature of families, including their

composition and spending patterns.

2. Explain the socialization process and other roles of the family.

3. Explain the dynamics of family consumption decision making.

4. Explain social class, its measures, its groupings and its role in

consumer behavior.

5. Critically analyze:

The influence of various family members on consumption

decisions.

Measures of social class.

Learning Outcomes



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Family: Traditionally defined as two or more persons related

by blood, marriage, or adoption who reside together.

Nowadays more aptly defined as: members of the most basic

social group who live together and interact to satisfy their

personal and mutual needs.

There are four main types of family:

Married Couple Nuclear

Extended Single-parent

The predominant form of family is largely influenced by theculture within which the families exist.

Household spending patterns have changed.

The Changing Family



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Consumer Socialization: The process by which children acquire the

skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to function as consumers.

Family and Consumer Socialization



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In addition to socialization, thefamily provides other functions

including:

Economic well-being

Emotional support

Suitable family lifestyles

Other Functions of the Family



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The roles that individuals play in the consumption process in

multi-person households typically fall into the following eight

categories:

1. Influencer

2. Gatekeeper

3. Decider

4. Buyer

5. Preparer

6. User

7. Maintainer

8. Disposer

Family Consumption Decisions: Roles



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Family consumption decisions can also be classified as:

Husband dominated

Wife dominated

Joint

Autonomic

The extent and nature of husband-wife influence in family

decisions depend in part on the specific product or service

and cultural influences.

More recently there has been a trend toward children

playing a more active role in what the family buys, as well

as in the family decision-making process.

Family Consumption Decisions



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Social Class: The division of members of a society into a hierarchy of

distinct status classes, so that members of each class have eitherhigher or lower status than members of other classes.

Status reflects the relative rankings of members of each social class

in terms of specific status factors.

Social class membership often serves as a frame of reference for thedevelopment of consumer attitudes and behavior.

Most societies have three major types of social class: high, middle

and lower. However the size and composition of the classes depend

upon the relative prosperity of a particular country.

Social Class

Japanese ModelUS Model Indian Model


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Researchers measure social class either by:

Subjective measures: individuals are asked to estimate theirown social-class positions

Objective measures: individuals answer specific socioeconomic

questions and then are categorized according to answers:

Single-variable indexes such as:

o Occupation

o Education

o Income Composite-variable indexes:

o Index of Status Characteristics

o Socioeconomic Status Score

Social Class Measurement



11/1211Dr Catherine Bachleda: MKT 5399

Class Application: Decision Making

In small groups:

Read the decision-making case on page 125-126 of the text.

Be prepared to identify the characters in the case who are

playing each of the following roles:

1. Influencer 2. Gatekeeper

3. Decider 4. Buyer

5. Preparer 6. User

7. Maintainer 8. Disposer


12/1212Dr Catherine Bachleda: MKT 5399

Homework for Tutorial

Read the following articles (available on Jenzabar):

1. Mittal, B & Royne, M. (2010) Consuming as a family: Modes of

intergenerational influence on young adults,Journal of

Consumer Research, 9: 239-257.

2. Hamilton, K & Catterall, M. (2006) Consuming love in poor

families: Childrens influence on consumption decisions,Journal

of Marketing, 22: 1031-1052.

3. Coleman, R. (1983) The continuing significance of social class to

marketing,Journal of Consumer Research, 10: 265-279.

Be prepared to discuss:

the influence of parents on their childrens consumption decisions

the influence of children on parents consumption decisions; and

the problems with measures of social class.

t8 family & social class

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